Burns suggests seven online strategies to help teachers take ownership of their professional development, including sane ways to embrace the information-rich Twitter experience, Google Hangouts, and video tutorials.

Edutopia's director of social media strategy and marketing provides tips that administrators can use to create a more connected school culture by modeling Twitter use and encouraging staff to work, play, and learn through the medium. Another great post from Leoni: 5 Tips for Taking Advantage of Twitter Over the Summer.

Mazza presents two new initiatives -- the #Nt2T chat and the Twitter 101 eCourse -- designed to bring teachers, school leaders and parents into the communication-rich Twitterverse. Also from Mazza: 12 Reasons to Get Your School District Tweeting.

Ray, Edutopia's director of programming and innovation, discusses how to get started using Twitter to expand your personal learning network, and provides a list of education-based "chats" on Twitter. You might also want to read Suzie Boss's early introduction to educational uses for Twitter, Twittering, Not Frittering: Professional Development in 140 Characters.

Hooker highlights how Interactive Learning Challenges can bring professional development events to life, by merging collaboration, interactivity, and problem solving in a hands-on environment for learning technology.

Marcinek gives us a personal perspective on how the edcamp model changed his professional focus and provides examples of how he's adapted this model for staff, students, and community. Thinking of organizing an edcamp? Check out Resources for Organizing an Edcamp for a curated list of resources to help you on your way.

Pinterest is an educator's dream come true because of its many options for curating and sharing ideas, displaying student work, and building a PLN. Also be sure to check out Eric Sheninger's blog post, Pinterest for Educators?

Guymon, an online middle school teacher, provides an overview of how Twitter, blogs, edcamps, and Google Hangouts are becoming the backbone of DIY professional development in the 21st century's educational ecosystem. For more on Google Hangouts, see Mary Beth Hertz' blog post, How Educators and Schools Can Make the Most of Google Hangouts.

Building a Professional Learning Network (PLN)

Six educators share the insights, changes, and rewards observed and felt during their journey from unconnectedness to connectedness. Another great Whitby blog post, How Do I Get a PLN?, offers some basic, practical wisdom about what a PLN is and how to get one.

Visit Edutopia’s community to connect and exchange ideas, resources, and information to further your own learning. Also, for a list of upcoming professional-development opportunities, see Edutopia's events page, updated weekly: "Educational Webinars, Unconferences, and Conferences."

I appreciate learning about creating PLNs. I love collaborating with educators and, frankly, did not know of this method of professional development before reading this blog. Thank you for this post, I will begin developing my own PLN today!